Praxis
by 2BeautifulBrownEyes
Summary: A small bit about the destruction of Praxis. Contains Gregory/Ranna. This is something I think Helen should have done with her 113 year vacation.


**Before Praxis Falls**

**Disclaimer:**** Not mine, sadly. It was in good hands though, so I'm not too upset. Damian Kindler, Amanda Tapping, and Martin Wood did a fantastic job. **

**A/N:**** I have decided this will be part of a small trilogy of one-shots about Praxis. It took me awhile, and I had a bit of trouble with it, but I think I like how it turned out... **

**Am I the only person who thinks that Helen should have saved Praxis and, of course, Gregory? She had 113 years and could have saved him. Also, did anyone else get that Gregory/Ranna vibe? No? Okay, well... without further ado, here's my take on what actually happened. Enjoy:) **

"Father, we don't have time." Helen Magnus yelled to her father, who was still in his office.

"Helen, dear, don't rush an old man. I'm just making sure I have everything." Gregory replied as he looked around his office, taking a last look at the place he had spent the last 65+ years of his life. All the memories and research he could not save weighed on his heart. Gregory turned to face the window, gazing out longingly over the city neither he, nor his daughter could save.

"Father," Helen was standing in the door way, with a look of urgency taking the place of her normally calm demeanor, "We have to go now. We have to be out of the city before the tremors start," she insisted.

He grabbed the drive which contained all his files and inserted it in the sealed compartment hidden in his cane and headed out the door.

"Where's Ranna?" Gregory asked, looking around for the leader of Praxis as they rushed down the hallway to the glass elevator.

"She said she'd be right down, she was headed to her chambers," Helen said, a worried look on her face.

"How long ago was this?" Gregory asked, concern colouring his voice.

Helen looked away, "About 15 minutes ago," she bit her lip, which was something she only did when very anxious.

Helen turned to Gregory and noticed a determined look on his face, one that she often got when she was not going to be dissuaded. He was going to go after her. She watched helplessly as he pushed the up button instead of the down they needed. Gregory turned to face his only daughter, his legacy, with a fire in his eyes that was matched by the determination on his face. He was daring her to say something, daring her to try to change his mind.

"Fathe-" she tried, but before she could finish her first word he interrupted her, a disapproving scowl on his face that was usually reserved for Nikola.

"Helen, don't try to stop me. I'm going to find her, and who knows, she might have already left," Gregory looked doubtful, but pressed on anyways, "but in case she hasn't I'm going to look. Helen, I've got to try." He impatiently pressed the button again.

"If you had let me finish, I would have said that I'm not going to stop you, I am coming with you." Gregory gave Helen an incredulous look. "You need my help."

Gregory looked ready to dispute that, but the ding of the elevator doors interrupted whatever he had been about to say.

They stepped inside without a word. The doors slid closed soundlessly behind them and a silence descended over the two occupants of the glass elevator.

Gregory turned away from the elevator doors and towards the glass walls that over looked the city.

"It's just a city. I don't know why the thought of its destruction hurts. The technology will be saved and the residents as well..." Gregory trailed off and Helen put a hand on his shoulder.

"It was your home, and it was where you should have been. You belonged here, even if you weren't Praxian, and as you said, there was and is too much here for us to ignore," Helen attempted to console her father.

The silence that fell in the elevator was filled with a grief for what would be lost with the destruction of this marvelous city. The doors dinged open and with one last fleeting glance out of the elevator he said his good-bye to Praxis, his home away from Helen.

The short hallway that led to Ranna's chambers was in shambles; tables turned on their sides, sculptures smashed on the floor, and paintings knocked off the wall. The stark white of the bench was marred by drops of blood, and it looked as if someone had thrown something into Ranna's large double doors.

"Ranna," Gregory gasped as he threw open the broken doors to her chambers.

Lying in a crumpled heap at the base of a pillar was none other than the leader of that very city, Ranna Seneschal. For one hear stopping moment she appeared to be dead; her face pale and so still. This image was disrupted by the rise and fall of her chest and the twitching of her left hand.

In her unconscious state she looked worried instead of the peaceful expression she normally had when she slept, Gregory thought. She seemed to struggle, to fight being unconscious like she knew she was in grave danger.

"Ranna..." Helen whispered and Gregory rushed to her side, surprisingly spry for a man of 182, Helen on his heels.

"Ranna!" He yelled and Ranna started and groaned. She opened her eyes and immediately shut them.

"Is that all you can think to say?" she asked, her eyes still squeezed tight as if in pain.

"Until I think of how to tell you how stupid, foolish, and arrogant this was, yes," Gregory replied as he dropped to his knees beside her and pulled her close. Ranna chuckled then winced.

Her eyelids fluttered as she seemed to battle for consciousness. "Gregory, darling, I'm so glad you found me. I was scared I wouldn't see you again," she hoarsely whispered.

He leaned in close and spoke softly to her, "I'll always come and find you, love, no matter where you hide." He kissed her lightly and held her close, just breathing in the scent of her.

Ranna gasped and clutched at her side. Blood spilled over her fingers from a gash there. Her eyes widened as realization dawned on her face and chased away the cloudy haze that had fogged her mind.

"Gregory, Helen, he's still here. He never left," Ranna croaked worriedly.

Gregory looked around and saw no one, but Helen, with her years of seclusion making her paranoid, got up from beside her father to take a closer look. She scanned the room, searching for something in the dark, looking for someone lurking in the shadows of Ranna's chambers. Though she saw nothing something about this put her on edge. She didn't let her guard down as she turned to face her father, who was attempting to assess Ranna's injuries.

"Ranna, dear, you need to rest. You'll need all your strength because we will have to move you. You will have to get up soon," Gregory tried to console the panicked Ranna, "Just rest, there is no one here."

"That is where you are wrong, Magnus," a voice spoke from a darkened corner, hidden from sight behind a pillar.

"Who are you?" Helen asked, her British accent sharpening as her hand crept toward the holster where her gun sat.

"I wouldn't do that, Miss Magnus, and my name is of no concern. I am simply here to kill her," a creature stepped out of the shadows and pointed at Ranna, "and him. You are just a consolation prize," it leered at Helen.

The Abnormal was native to Hollow Earth; Helen had never seen one outside of Praxis. She noted that its head resembled that of a frog. It blinked its yellow eyes, its horizontal black pupils dilating. Helen noticed movement out of the corner of her eye and attempted to distract the creature. She took a step towards Ranna's large desk and it took a step to follow her.

The Abnormal didn't see Gregory stand up behind him, and it never even saw the cane coming. The crack it made as it snapped in half over its head was deafening. The silence that followed was marred only by the large thump of the Abnormal hitting the ground, and the breathing of the people in the room.

"It's an Amphibian Humanoid," Helen spoke, breaking the shocked silence.

"A Norcotocada," Ranna corrected breathily as she tried to stand, "it's a violent creature. Its name was Belenos." Gregory rushed to her side to support her.

Suddenly a tremor wracked the building and Helen braced herself against the desk. She checked her watch, "There isn't much time left."

Gregory tried to quickly pull Ranna along with him. This was made more difficult by the lack of his cane and the fact the Ranna looked like she was about to faint.

"I said you would need my help," Helen said cheekily as she pulled one of Ranna's arms around her shoulder, "Shall we?"

**A/N2:**** This can stand alone, but my other story 'A Sanctuary Parent Trap Cross Over' uses this to explain why Gregory is still alive, as he and Ranna were presumed dead. **

**Look for the next installment, "During the Fall". I hope to get it up soon. Please Review:)**


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